ls (list files and directories) in Linux CLI - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Sometimes you need to see what files and folders are in a place on your computer. The ls command shows you a list of these files and folders so you know what is there.

When you want to check what files are in your current folder before opening or editing them

When you need to find out if a file was saved in a specific directory

When you want to see hidden files that start with a dot in your folder

When you want to see detailed information like file size and modification date

When you want to list files sorted by time or size to find recent or large files

Commands

This command lists all visible files and folders in the current directory.

Terminal

ls

Expected Output

Documents

Downloads

example.txt

Pictures

Videos

This command lists all files including hidden ones that start with a dot.

Terminal

ls -a

Expected Output

.

..

.bashrc

Documents

Downloads

example.txt

Pictures

Videos

→

-a - Show all files including hidden ones

This command lists files with detailed information like permissions, owner, size, and modification date.

Terminal

ls -l

Expected Output

-rw-r--r-- 1 user user 1234 Apr 25 10:00 example.txt

drwxr-xr-x 2 user user 4096 Apr 20 09:00 Documents

drwxr-xr-x 3 user user 4096 Apr 22 15:30 Downloads

→

-l - Show detailed file information

This command lists files in long format sorted by modification time, newest first.

Terminal

ls -lt

Expected Output

-rw-r--r-- 1 user user 1234 Apr 25 10:00 example.txt

drwxr-xr-x 3 user user 4096 Apr 22 15:30 Downloads

drwxr-xr-x 2 user user 4096 Apr 20 09:00 Documents

→

-t - Sort files by modification time

→

-l - Show detailed file information

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else, remember: ls shows you what files and folders are in a directory, and flags like -a and -l help you see hidden files and details.

Common Mistakes

Running ls without knowing the current directory

You might look at the wrong folder and not find the files you expect

Use pwd to check your current directory before running ls

Expecting ls to show hidden files without -a flag

Hidden files starting with a dot won’t appear without -a

Add -a flag to see hidden files: ls -a

Using ls -l but not understanding the output columns

You might misinterpret file permissions, sizes, or dates

Learn the meaning of each column in ls -l output for correct understanding

Summary

ls lists files and folders in the current directory.

Use ls -a to include hidden files in the list.

Use ls -l to see detailed information about each file.